mmendable vigour, and, oh, brother,
his strong arms!...

As he entered the chapter room, simple and uncouth, and greeted the
assembly with a sort of curtsey, the Prior, Canons, Treasurer, in fact,
everybody began to laugh. His greying hair, goatee beard and slightly
wild eyes, always had this effect. It didn't bother Brother Gaucher,
though.

--Reverend Fathers, he said meekly, as he twiddled with his rosary of
olive pips, Although it's very true that empty vessels make the most
noise, I want you to know that by further furrowing my already poor,
furrowed brow, I think I have found a way to deliver us from our
hardship.

--This is what I propose. You all know about aunty Begon, the kind
woman who looked after me when I was little. (May her soul rest in
peace, the old vixen! She used to sing filthy songs after drinking.) I
must tell you, Reverend Fathers, that when she was alive, she was as
familiar with the herbs of the mountainside, as the old Corsican
blackbird. Now, before she died, she developed a unique elixir made
from several different kinds of herbs that we had gathered in the
Alpilles.... All this was a long time ago, but, with the help of St.
Augustine, and your permission, Father Abbot, I should, if I search
thoroughly, be able to find the ingredients for this elixir. We will
then only have to bottle it, and sell it at a good profit. This would
allow the community to quietly fill its coffers, like our brother
Trappists and ... and their liqueur, Grand Chartreu ...

Before he could finish, the Prior had stood up and leapt round his
neck. The Canons shook him by the hand. But it was the treasurer, who
was more moved than all the others, and respectfully kissed the edge of
Brother Gaucher's frayed hood.... Each one then went back to his seat
and the chapter, still in session, elected to entrust the cows to
Brother Thrasybule, so that Brother Gaucher could dedicate himself to
making his elixir.

* * * * *

How what trials and tribulations the good Brother underwent to retrieve
aunty Begon's recipe, history doesn't tell us. But what you can be
assured of, is that after only six months the White Canons' elixir was
very popular. Throughout the districts of Avignon and Arles there
wasn't a single farm which didn't have a store room containing a small
brown earthenware bottle showing the arms of Provence, and a silver
label depicting a monk in ecstasy, standing amongst the bottles of
swee